A Digital New Deal for the AI Era
Our awards carry a tradition of more than two decades. See the 2026 honorees → · Browse past awardees →
Hosted by the CIE – Greater New York Chapter, in partnership with CIE National and university & ecosystem partners across the Greater New York region. The convention brings together engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and students across AI, semiconductors, healthcare, finance, and emerging technologies.
2026 Honorees & Featured Speakers
This year CIE-GNY recognizes four leaders whose work spans agentic AI, quantum computing, national digital governance, and next-generation wireless networks. Each will be honored at the Gala Dinner, with two opening the conference as keynote speakers.
Honoree · Gala Speaker
Yu-Ting Kuo
Corporate Vice President, Microsoft (agentic AI development); Honorary Fellow, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge; Faculty, MIT Sloan School of Management and Department of Computer Science
Honoree · Gala Speaker
Yennun Huang
Head, Information Security Center, Academia Sinica; second Minister of Digital Affairs of Taiwan (2024–2025); Distinguished Research Fellow, Academia Sinica; IEEE Fellow
Honoree · Keynote
Jerry M. Chow
IBM Fellow and CTO of Quantum-Centric Supercomputing, IBM Research — a leader in building quantum systems that work alongside classical high-performance computing
Honoree · Keynote
Rose Hu
Department Head & Professor, Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech; IEEE Fellow and AAAS Fellow
Announcements & Open Calls
2026 Annual Convention
Keynote sessions, panels, a poster and demo session, and an evening awards banquet — Sunday, October 25 at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel, Flushing.
Call for Posters & Demos
Submissions welcome on AI, engineering, science, healthcare, education, cybersecurity, robotics, smart cities, quantum computing, and other emerging technologies. Designed especially for undergraduate and graduate students; faculty, researchers, and industry professionals equally welcome. For the AI Demo track we also invite our startup community to present a pitch and demo.
poster@cieusa-gnyc.org · submission template
2026 High School Scholarship
Open to students of Chinese descent in the Greater New York area who will be high school juniors or seniors in September 2026.
scholarship@cieusa-gnyc.org · application form and announcement
Conference Pillars
AI Reshaping Education & the Future of Work
Talent cultivation, professional reinvention, and education reform for the AI era.
AI Reality Check for Biomedicine & Life Sciences Innovation
How AI is rewiring the healthcare value chain, drug discovery, and precision medicine — with attention to translation, supply-chain trust, and measurable return.
AI for Governance, Trust & the Future of Finance
Agent evaluation, guardrails, and observability for high-stakes deployment; AI governance frameworks; and global leadership on industrial AI standards — anchored by transformations across the financial industry.
Program Schedule · Sunday, October 25, 2026
Registration & Networking
Registration desk opens at noon. Poster and demo setup begins; coffee and tea provided. Pre-conference social runs 12:00–1:00 PM.
Poster Session — Pathfinders & Scholars
Dean, Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics & Technology, Kean University
Professor, Hennings College of Science, Mathematics & Technology, Kean University
Posters from faculty, graduate students, young professionals, practitioners, and the CIE-GNY High School Scholarship Program. The display stays open through 6:00 PM with drop-in viewing during all session transitions. Best Poster and Demo Awards are presented at the Gala Dinner.
Demo Session New for 2026
Founder, LANDED Incubator — the New York State-funded startup bridge connecting deep-tech founders to the NY ecosystem
Live demos from robotics companies, startups, faculty, graduate students, young professionals, and practitioners. The demo room stays open through 4:00 PM with drop-in viewing during all session transitions. Best Demo Award presented at the Gala Dinner.
Opening Ceremony & Keynote
Opening remarks from the CIE-GNY President, Vice President, and Program Co-Chairs. The keynote features distinguished Asian American leaders whose work spans human-centered AI, responsible AI deployment, quantum computing, and next-generation networks.
IBM Fellow and CTO of Quantum-Centric Supercomputing, IBM Research — a leader in building quantum systems that work alongside classical high-performance computing
Department Head & Professor, Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech; IEEE Fellow and AAAS Fellow
Fireside Chats & Parallel Forums
Three back-to-back fireside conversations preview the afternoon tracks, each pairing real-world case studies with a moderated panel — running alongside two parallel forums.
3A-1 · From Relief to Empowerment — AI Reshaping Work, Education & the Next-Generation Workforce
2:00–2:30 PM · Case studies and panel on how AI is redefining engineering careers and education.
COO, Acceler8; Adjunct Faculty, Columbia University; Chair, Columbia University School of Engineering Alumni
Founder & CEO, Gamma Paradigm Capital; Faculty, Johns Hopkins University and National Chengchi University
Senior Tech Lead, Google; Founder, Pioneering Minds AI
Associate Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University — data systems and human-in-the-loop analytics
3A-2 · AI Reality Check — Turning AI Innovation into Business-Sustainable Applications
2:30–3:00 PM · A candid look at the status quo of AI adoption in biomedicine, the real-world challenges, and how investment logic is shifting with new AI narratives.
Chief Strategy Officer, Appier; formerly a partner at McKinsey & Company
Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics & Data Science and of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine; Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association
Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences & AI in Human Health, Mount Sinai, where he leads the Precision Omics Lab; co-founder and Chief Unboxer of OpenBoxScience.org
Associate Professor of Health Informatics and Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine; Technical Director of AI for Emergency Medicine and Capacity Planning, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
3A-3 · From Reform to Responsibility — AI for Governance, Trust & the Future of Finance
3:00–3:30 PM · Where AI goes next in finance: funding, open source, and the regulatory frontier. For engineers, data scientists, and finance professionals working at the AI–finance intersection.
COO, Acceler8; Adjunct Faculty, Columbia University; Chair, Columbia University School of Engineering Alumni
Deputy Chief Investment Officer & Head of Fixed Income, TIAA; previously quantitative strategist and corporate bond trader at Susquehanna International Group
Chief Investment Officer, Protego Trust Bank; angel investor and startup advisor; previously head of equity research and head of ESG on Wall Street
Partner & Head of Capital Markets, JLJ Capital; previously head of Global Capital Markets and head of the Asia Division at the Carlton Group
3B · AI for Good — Global Impact & Sustainable Business Models
2:00–3:30 PM · AI is changing the world — but can it also make it better? Drawing on his book AI for Good, Professor Chen and the panel explore how AI is moving beyond automation to improve healthcare, build smarter cities, strengthen ESG, and create meaningful social impact, with real-world stories from pioneering organizations.
Professor of Law, National Taipei University; Chair, ESG World Citizens & Digital Governance Foundation; author of AI for Good. His work bridges law, technology, and public policy, advancing human-centered AI and sustainable innovation.
Former Minister of Digital Affairs, Taiwan — digital transformation, resilient digital infrastructure, and collaboration across government, industry, and society
Dean, AI Academy, Institute for Information Industry (III) — AI education, digital talent development, and responsible AI adoption across industry
Concert harpist and music educator; Doctor of Musical Arts, Columbia University. She has performed across the United States, Italy, and Taiwan, and works at the intersection of music, community engagement, and global citizenship.
3C · AI Demo Room — Vendors & Research Labs
2:00–3:30 PM · Live demos from 10+ vendors and 5+ research labs, spanning AI platforms to robotics.
Founder, LANDED Incubator
Coffee Break · Posters & Startup Lightning Round
4A · Poster Viewing with Presenters
Active presenter viewing with coffee in the poster gallery. · Phoenix Terrace (Left)
4B · Startup Demo Lightning Round
Rapid-fire elevator pitches from AI and deep-tech startups with live Q&A, presented with the LANDED Incubator and partner ecosystems. Featured startups from Startup World Cup. · Boardroom West
Breakout Sessions — Three Tracks
5A · AI & Next-Gen Connectivity: Talks + Roundtable
Pillar 1 deep dive on AI, data, and the engineering workforce.
Founder & CEO, Gamma Paradigm Capital; Faculty, Johns Hopkins University and National Chengchi University
Associate Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University — data systems and human-in-the-loop analytics
Connecting the AI deep-tech ecosystem with North American research, capital, and industry partners — featuring a hands-on AI workshop for practitioners and rising scholars.
5B · AI for Precision Oncology, Healthcare & Biomedical Science
AI is becoming integral to patient care, clinical trials, clinical decision systems, and the biomedical science workflow. This session covers oncology clinical trials and the role of AI, how AI fits into healthcare alongside the people who deliver it, and how AI agents can accelerate biomedical discovery.
Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics & Data Science and of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine; Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association; PhD, National Taiwan University. His research spans distributed private modeling, blockchain, AI, and natural language processing, supported by NIH R01 and K99/R00 awards.
Price Family Associate Professor of Medicine, Columbia University; Director, Thoracic Medical Oncology Service. Princeton BA, Columbia MD, Chief Fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering; published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Precision Oncology: Tailoring Lung Cancer Care and Clinical Trials for the Individual Patient”
Associate Professor of Health Informatics and Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine; Technical Director of AI for Emergency Medicine and Capacity Planning, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
“AI in Healthcare: How to Fit In, Work with Others, and Make Things Better”
Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences & AI in Human Health, Mount Sinai, where he leads the Precision Omics Lab. Co-founder and Chief Unboxer of OpenBoxScience.org; led the team that won the $1 million AlzInsights AI Prize for Alzheimer’s research.
“How Can AI Agents Help You Advance Biomedical Science?”
Translating research into industry narratives, IP licensing versus spin-outs, SBIR/STTR funding, and career paths beyond the lab.
5C · AI in Finance: Fireside Chat + Roundtable
Conversational, no-slides fireside with moderated Q&A open to all attendees.
COO, Acceler8; Adjunct Faculty, Columbia University; Chair, Columbia University School of Engineering Alumni
Deputy Chief Investment Officer & Head of Fixed Income, TIAA; previously quantitative strategist and corporate bond trader at Susquehanna International Group
Chief Investment Officer, Protego Trust Bank; angel investor and startup advisor; previously head of equity research and head of ESG on Wall Street
Life inside quant funds, fintech startups, and bank AI divisions — and how to break in.
Birds-of-a-Feather Roundtables
Small-table mentoring conversations. Sign-up boards are posted at registration; table mentors are confirmed day-of.
First-Time Founders & Pre-Startup
Idea-to-MVP, co-founder dynamics, Taiwan versus US startup ecosystems, raising a pre-seed, and what incubators actually provide.
Arts, Music, Film & Creative AI
AI as creative collaborator, protecting creative IP, and building a creative career across Taiwan and the US.
Additional tables across careers, biotech and health AI, and finance — see Sessions 5A–5C above.
Awards Ceremony & Gala Dinner
An evening of recognition & community
- CIE-GNYC Distinguished Achievement Award
- CIE-GNYC Distinguished Service Award
- CIE Institute Service Award
- High School Scholarship Awards
- Best Poster Award — new in 2026
- Best Demo Award — new in 2026
- Gala remarks from our 2026 honorees
- Networking reception & closing remarks
Awards & Recognition
Each year CIE-GNY honors engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs whose work has advanced their field and strengthened the Asian American technical community in the Greater New York region. Awards are presented at the Gala Dinner on October 25, alongside our student and high school scholarships and the conference poster and demo prizes.
Our awards carry a tradition of more than two decades. See the 2026 honorees → · Browse past awardees →
2026 Cycle
- Honorees
- Announced — see above
- Posters & demos
- Due August 30
- Scholarship
- Due September 20
- Presented
- October 25 Gala Dinner
Distinguished Achievement Award
Recognizes sustained excellence and landmark contributions in engineering, science, or technology leadership — work that has measurably advanced a field or industry.
Distinguished Service Award
Honors exceptional service to the engineering profession and to the Asian American technical community — mentorship, institution-building, public service, and volunteer leadership.
Institute Service Award
Recognizes members whose volunteer leadership has strengthened CIE-GNY and the Chinese Institute of Engineers — the people who make the chapter’s programs possible.
High School Scholarship
Supports outstanding students of Chinese descent in the Greater New York area who will be high school juniors or seniors in September 2026. Recipients are invited to present in the poster session.
Best Poster & Best Demo
Selected from the conference poster and demo sessions across faculty, graduate student, young professional, startup, and high school scholar tracks, and presented at the Gala Dinner.
This Year’s Honorees
Four Leaders Recognized
Yu-Ting Kuo, Yennun Huang, Jerry M. Chow, and Rose Hu are recognized this year for contributions spanning agentic AI, national digital governance, quantum computing, and next-generation wireless networks.
Call for Posters, Demos & Scholarship Applications
Scholarship applications may be submitted by students directly, or nominated by a CIE-GNY member or by peers with a member sponsor. Poster and demo submissions are open to all. See the scholarship announcement and the call for posters and demos for full details.
- Posters & demos: poster@cieusa-gnyc.org
- Scholarship: scholarship@cieusa-gnyc.org
- General inquiries: awards@cieusa-gnyc.org